Saving Paws

This year the Easter break reminded me of an adventure I had last year this time when I went with a woman I barely knew to two different kill shelters in West Virginia, over six hours away. In the van was her younger daughter Kayla and a collection of leashes, treats, towels and as many cages as we could fit.

The first shelter we arrived at was small and covered in a fine snow which had begun to fall half way through our trip. We entered the small front office armed with collars and leashes and a small cat carrier. Kayla and I sat out front while Heather, the woman, went in the back to collect the dogs. I desperately wanted to save some cats, too, but she is allergic. As we waited the workers asked if we wanted to take two extras they had.

A woman came out carrying a little Rottweiler puppy, Kayla and I were hooked. His name was Pete but we changed that right away. I got my way and he was renamed Dakota. Next was the most adorable Cocker Spaniel which we named Sunny after his golden coat and great personality. His name was Ginger but we soon found that would not work when we discovered she was actually a “he.” A dog we had been informed was blind in one eye was then brought. This dog walked with a tilt to his head. He was deaf we believed, he was half blind and he was filthy with dirt and his own filth. Heather wasn’t too pleased with this shelter after seeing the living quarters and this dog in particular. It nearly killed me to leave all the ones we couldn’t save behind because of lack of room.

We loaded about 15dogs into the van. A good group of those were lab puppies that were covered in urine. We drove about an hour down the road to another shelter, this one much cleaner but with fewer cages so more animals would be put to sleep faster. We saved five dogs there and let the others out to walk a little since it would be a long ride for all of us. Dakota was not used to leashes so he was a handful, but I had already decided to make him my project so I took him over completely, along with Sunny a.k.a. Fabio.

The ride home started with us almost hitting three emaciated dogs walking down the middle of the road. We tried to call them to us, but they kept walking. We started off again and this time it was for the long haul. The car began to smell right away and even though it was freezing, we were forced to open the windows. All of a sudden the one dog started howling for no reason. He had been silent when all the other dogs were loud and talking, but now everyone was tired and asleep he started going crazy.

We finally got them home late at night. I spent the night. We brought all the dogs in after stopping at the store to pick up shampoo and baby gates and washed them in either the shower, outside or in a bathtub, as we did with all the puppies. We were caring for 25 dogs by the end of the night.

A few days later I got a call from Heather telling me about the animals after checkups and adoptions going on. This is what I was told….

The weird dog we got not only was hit by a car, blind in one eye and filthy but to top that off he was shot in the head with buckshot. After major surgery, the vet informed Heather there wasn’t much they could do and he was put to sleep.

The puppies had worms, but some also were found to have Parvo, a very deadly disease. This disease is especially dangerous for Rotties so Dakota had to be separated from every other dog.

Kennel cough was the other big virus the dogs were all found to have. Some dogs were covered in ticks. The ticks went deep into the dogs ear canals and were on the dogs so long that they were full of blood and the size of an eraser cap.

The dogs started training right away to make them ready for fostering and adoptions. Since that day, over a hundred dogs have been saved and Family Pack Rescue (the organization Heather started to save the dogs) has spread.

It has expanded to the point that even cats are being saved. Not all the beginning dogs had happy endings, but all came out of a harsh death in a cold cement cage. Many have happy families and others are now in a more peaceful place. We keep trying and we keep saving every day but we still need help to do more.

A Home for Everyone

In the past few years I have worked with quite a few different animal organizations, one being the Frederick Animal Shelter. I, along with my mother in the beginning, would go on our own schedule to work with the different animals in the shelter (mostly cats since I favor them).

Volunteers younger than 18 must have a guardian sign and must have one volunteer with them if they are younger then 15. As with many other jobs volunteers must learn how to deal with situations and how to care for the animals present.

The website www.Petfinder.com is just one of the resources available for volunteers to help without going to the shelter. This website allows volunteers to make profiles for pets at the shelter and those in foster care and more which in turn can get them homes. I did one imaginative profile where a little kitten was in hiding from the mob and was in the Witness Protection Program and needed a home to hide him and provide him with a new life. As one can see the stories don’t have to be logical or real. It’s up to the writer. (That kitten was adopted within the week.) I like working with the animals one on one best.

The shelter has a cat room, large dog room, small dog and bunny room and a quarantine room as well. This room holds new entries and mother cats with their newborns (or soon to be newborn). In the back of the building sits a viewing and visiting area where dogs are able to run free and interact with people that have interest in them. The cats stay in their designated area though to keep trouble to a minimal.

Every month or so the shelter has a photographer come in and take photos of the animals available so they are always up to date for potential owners to see.. The animals learn better social skills and are more likely to connect with someone if they have more contact with a person and being the person who sees them go from lonely to teaching them to be loving and trusting and in the process is a good feeling. It’s sad to see the animals go "home," but it makes me feel so good to know that a pet I worked with has gotten a home and will live a better life.

The shelter can always use more help from people and it’s a great thing to do with friends and family, especially if you have a deep love of animals as I do.